RIAA Gold 45 "white matte" award for John Lennon's "Instant Karma (We All Shine On)" presented to John Ono Lennon. The track, sometimes stylized as "Instant Karma!", was released on Feb. 6, 1970 was certified Gold by the RIAA on Dec. 14, 1970 for one million copies sold.
A huge hit for Lennon right after the break up of the Beatles, the track was produced by Phil Spector, who recorded it at Abbey Road Studios after which it was very quickly released on the Beatles own Apple Records. It became the first solo Beatle track to sell one million copies in the U.S. (although it notably did include guitar and piano work by George Harrison as well). It hit #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and went into the top 10 in most other major music markets worldwide. See image above for the RIAA sales certification info on this single*.
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Item Highlights:
- RIAA Gold 45 award with white matte, gold disc, and gold info plate
- Estimated to have been made in 1964
- Presented to John Ono Lennon
- In VG condition with typical frame wear
- Has unopened original back with New York Frame & Picture Co. manufacturer sticker
- "White matte" awards (obviously so-named due to the white matte used) were made from from 1964-1974
- RIAA white matte awards numbered only 5-25 plaques worldwide for any given single/album
- Award measures approx. 13" x 17"
- Beautiful and very rare collector's item for any John Lennon or Beatles fan
- FREE WORLDWIDE insured shipping on this item (see details in red above and please also note all conditions related to international shipments here)
Detailed Item Description: This RIAA Gold single award is estimated to have been made in 1970. The award is presented to John Ono Lennon. This award is 52 years old and yet is in VG condition. There is some fairly noticeable frame wear, a couple of very minor spots on the matte, and tears on the backing paper as is expected. The award has its' original New York Frame & Picture Co. manufacturer sticker.
Don't miss this rare opportunity to get a highly coveted early John Lennon solo RIAA white matte award, presented to Lennon himself, for his first million seller as a solo artist. Did you know the Beatles have more RIAA sales in the top 10 highest auction sales than any other artist? See the top 10 in our article here.
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Notes on the condition of all vintage RIAA awards like this one: Please do not buy this item if you want a brand new piece of memorabilia. These are historical artifacts from the year they were produced. As a result they may show signs of wear. Frankly, if you see a 50-year-old award purported to be in 100% perfect condition, it might be too good to be true. After all, an antique should have "good' wear. If not, you might want to question the piece.
As to where they came from, they could have been displayed in record label offices, recording studios, artist manager's offices, radio stations, private collector's homes and yes, of course, possibly the artist's or songwriter's home. Typically, we don't know all the places they may have been over the years other than what we've stated in the description.
Finally, a word on photos: Our photos are zoomable so you can get a very good look. Do let us know if you want photos of any other details on our pieces and we'll be happy to provide.
*RIAA sales data source: RIAA.com